Sure, selection and quality of ingredients matters — or, in this case, choosing the underlying economic and demographic stats that build a ranking’s metrics.

But it’s the recipe — how the ingredients are mixed — that can truly impact the final result. You know, a dash here. Or a pinch there.

Take retirement. How the complex concept of personal finances figures into a person’s location choice for their golden years is by no means a set number.

Did you save enough? Are you a heavy spender? What might medical costs be? All are fairly unique parts of any household’s happy-retirement recipe.

But recent, noble efforts of data crunchers at WalletHub, Bankrate and Kiplinger’s to gauge the states in terms of retirement livability factors help show how the statistical mix can alter a ranking’s outcome.

I used my trusty spreadsheet to combine this trio’s retirement rankings in order to give a composite picture of strengths vs. weaknesses. I reassembled their published ranking data — overall scores, subindex grades and related data — into three categories: cost-of-living; character (culture and climate); and care (healthcare and healthiness).

Imagine making the costs measurement doubly as important as the other two metrics. That’s probably good for folks who are carefully watching their retirement pennies.

Florida and South Dakota were the top two. Utah was third followed by Wyoming and Tennessee.

California was the ninth-worst state for retirement when personal budgetary items were given high importance. And New York and New Jersey were worst-to-retire-to states by this math.

On the other hand, there are folks who don’t worry much about money. Perhaps they have generous pensions or saved smartly (or were simply lucky).

Also, note what many studies of retirees’ views on their quality of life after employment reveal. Life’s intangibles — friendships, families, and health — are far more critical to seniors’ happiness than many of factors frequently used to study best-place locations.

So, what if costs weren’t part of the retirement math, just the character of a state and the quality of its senior care?

According to this formula, the top three states shift to Vermont then Hawaii and Maine. Vermont was No. 40 when costs were a double factor.

Meanwhile, Florida and South Dakota fall into a tie for eighth place when costs aren’t part of the recipe. Tennessee drops to No. 40.

And California, minus its well-known high expenses? The 15th-best state for retirees.

Jonathan Lansner has been the Orange County Register's business columnist since 1997 and has been part of the newspaper's coverage of the local business scene since 1986. He is a native New Yorker who is a past national president of the Society of American Business Editors and Writers and a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. Jon lives in Trabuco Canyon -- yes, a homeowner -- and when he's not fiddling with his trusty spreadsheet at work you can likely find him rooting for his beloved Anaheim Ducks or umpiring local lacrosse games.